Kidnapped
by sunstorm2
Summary: Kel is kidnapped on the way to Fort Steadfast and loses her memory. Something we all thought was gone is back. WIP. KN YD. Chapter 6 up.
1. On the Road Again

Disclaimer:

Do you really think that I own any of this stuff? If I did, why would I be posting it here? The first sentence is directly from the book 'Lady Knight', and there is a quote or two directly from the book, but other than that it's my writing about Tamora Pierce's characters.  
  
**Chapter 1**  
  
She nudged Hoshi to a trot.  
  
Kel was deep in thought as she rode alongside Tobe, toward Fort Steadfast. Her thoughts weren't on the weddings she was to attend there, but on what the child seer, Irnai, had said about her best friend, Neal.  
  
"He doesn't like surprises and the road of his life is littered with them," she had said. But other than the fact that his daughter would try for her shield, she had not said what, when, or where or anything else as to what they would be. Kel couldn't help but think about how many of these would include her, and not be all that nice. Though that seemed to happen all too often, everything always seemed to turn out okay in the end.  
  
"What's up?" Tobe wanted to know as he noticed that her mind was clearly elsewhere.  
  
"Hmm?" she asked realizing that someone was talking to her.  
  
"I just said 'what's up?' you got yer head in the clouds," he informed her.  
  
The guide and Neal were riding up ahead of them, where they couldn't hear, so Kel wasn't worried about him overhearing, and so said, "Oh, I was just thinking about what Irnai said about Neal before we left."  
  
"About his life bein' filled up with surprises?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You worry too much Mother. Neal's a big boy now. He can take care of his own self," came the playfully mocking reply.  
  
"Must everyone always call me Mother?" she asked, trying to sound annoyed with the nickname she had been dubbed with a while ago.  
  
"Would you prefer I call you 'Protector of the Small'?"  
  
"No! Anything but THAT name! And not 'Mother' either!" she added as an afterthought.  
  
"Then what do I call ya?"  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"Dunno."  
  
"My name perhaps?"  
  
"And what would that be Mother?"  
  
"Hahaha," Kel said dryly. "If you forgot then maybe you should've stayed at New Hope."  
  
Tobe just rolled his eyes. "You DO know why we call you 'Mother', don't you?"  
  
"No. Not really," she answered knowing perfectly why they did.  
  
"You worry enough for all of us sometimes."  
  
"Oh? And did you ever stop to think that maybe sometimes 'you all' don't worry enough?"  
  
"No. I did'n know ya could 'not worry enough'."  
  
"Well I wasn't worrying about it, simply _wondering _about it."  
  
"Right."  
  
"What're you talking about?" Neal had come back a bit, falling back into a steady pace next to Kel.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Kel said, not wanting to bring up what Irnai had said, or her informal titles.  
  
"Oh really?" Neal asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
She looked him in the eyes, scowling. "Really. Nothing," she said, staring into deep green eyes and almost getting lost. Luckily Neal looked away before she could get lost entirely and forget herself and stop scowling.  
  
"Alright. Whatever you say."  
  
Kel stared at Hoshi's mane, confused for a moment. She had had a crush on him as a page, but had gotten over it quickly. He was in love with her other best friend, Lady Yuki, and was to marry her very soon. Whatever had happened just then, she had no idea what it was. She shook head, about to look back up, when Neal said something.  
  
"What's wrong?" Neal asked as he saw his best friend scowling at her mare's mane, looking as though she just couldn't find the answer to some really though problem.  
  
"Oh nothing," she said. "Just a problem I couldn't figure out."  
  
"Oh? D'you want to tell me about?"  
  
"Oh no. I'm fine. I'll figure it out soon enough."  
  
A secret she had from him? When did they ever keep secrets from each other? Or maybe he was just being paranoid and it was nothing. But it couldn't hurt to ask.......  
  
"A secret from me?"  
  
"No!"  
  
It came too soon and too harsh to have been absolutely nothing, although it still did not mean that it was _something_......  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm just tired, or something."  
  
Her reply was not exactly what one would call believable.  
  
"Well if you want to talk to me, I'm still here, and always will be."  
  
She looked up and smiled at him. Even if she had a brief moment of confusion that she couldn't exactly have told him, at least she knew that he would always be there for her to talk to. He had always been a good friend, and it was a comfort to know that he always would be.  
  
He smiled back at her, and then something caught his eye. "Kel get your sword!"  
  
She grabbed it and turned around just in time to meet a stream of armed Scanrans that out numbered their group of four people, three of which were armed, a dog and a flock of sparrows.

**Good? Bad? Okay? Questions? Tell me please!!!  
  
See that little purplish bluish buttony thingy down there? Click it and review.  
  
And I'll try to make future chapters longer, no promises though.  
  
Okay. I'll shut up now so that you can review and go on with your lives.**


	2. Attack!

Thank you so much for the reviews!  
  
And yes, Squirrel Maiden of Green, I know that it's fun to be evil. My friend Shobi knows that too.  
  
And Wildmage Lioness, Dragon defender, and Call Me Nobody?!, I am here with more.  
  
If you read all this junk up here, include the word 'twistie tie' in your review. I just wanna know if any one pays attention to it.  
  
Oh yes. The disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, and I came up with the name of the guide. But he belongs to Tamora as well, as you would know from reading the end of 'Lady Knight"  
  
**Chapter 2**  
  
Kel cursed herself for not having her glaive with her at that moment. It was in the packs; they thought that they'd have a peaceful ride, considering what just happened to Blayce and his machines. Everyone thought that the Scanrans would back off for at least a couple of days. They should need time to reorganize. But no. Of course not. It had not directly effected all of them, so some of them had not yet gotten the news, and they were still there and ready to fight. And most of them were mounted.  
  
She may not have had her glaive with her, but she was decent with a sword, seeing as she had trained with one for years, and practiced regularly.  
  
One man came down on her with an axe. She brought Griffin up and blocked it, throwing the unmounted attacker backwards onto the ground.  
  
Then someone else came up from behind her. This time the attacker was mounted. He tried to come down over her head, to knock her out, or so it seemed, and very quickly she moved Hoshi forward a little and knocked the sword to the side, unsettling the attacker, but not quite knocking him of his horse.  
  
Then someone else, also mounted, tried to ram his sword through Kel's stomach. She easily blocked this attack too, and thought grimly 'These people may have swords, but they don't seem to have had too much practice.'  
  
Then someone with rather impressive swordsmanship came at her, also mounted, and she was caught by surprise. They brought down their sword, and as she tried to block the swing, someone else came up behind her, hitting her brutally on the back of her head with the flat of a sword, and she was knocked to the ground.  
  
'Oh great.' she thought 'I threw a couple of them to the ground, didn't kill any of them, and now I'm no help to the situation.  
  
Then Kel saw the situation of the others. Neal was pulling his sword out the body of a still mounted, yet dead attacker, to block the blow of an axe from someone on foot. Their guide was off his horse, and engaged in a sword fight with another attacker, who wasn't mounted either. She would have stared and admired the skill of the two, if she weren't in a life threatening situation, where she was on the ground and couldn't get up, and her friends were fight Scanrans.  
  
She had to find Tobe! There he was! Over on the right side of the road. He was unarmed, but normally this wouldn't have made him helpless or harmless. Except when someone had cut a long slice down both arms, and he was leaning against a tree, with a dog and a flock of sparrows protecting him.  
  
So that's where they had gone to. Well, they were much better off there than over by her.  
  
She could at least still lift her sword, whereas it looked like Tobe could barely lift an arm. At the moment Jump was hanging onto the crotch of someone's breeches, biting hard so as to inflict as much pain as possible, and to not go flying off. Two sparrows were attacking his eyes, and the rest had found different victims of their wrath.  
  
She then looked back over at Neal, who was luckily still on his horse. No one was coming at him, and he was catching his breath. Then out of nowhere someone came from behind him, mounted, sword raised, going ever so slowly and quietly toward him. She yelled out "Neal! Behind you!" before the attacker started going faster toward him, and he swung around, able to block the first blow, and then something hit Kel's head. Hard.  
  
She blacked out.  
  
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Neal heard Kel cry out "Neal! Behind you!" and swung around and blocked the blow from an attacker who had come up behind him. As he fought, he thought 'Why is she on the ground?!?!'. Then, with a burst of energy, for fear of not getting to his best friend in time, he rammed his sword into the attacker's stomach, and leaned to the side to avoid being hit by the other man's sword.

Neal then turned around to see that it was too late. Kel was unconscious, and being thrown over a horse. He tried to get to her, but the other person was faster. He swung up behind her, and kicked his horse into a gallop, into the woods and out of sight without knowing that there were a rather intelligent bunch of sparrows and an ugly dog following him.  
  
Neal wanted to follow, but knew he couldn't; he had to stick with the situation at hand. He turned, but then noticed that the others were backing off and going into the woods as well.  
  
He turned to see that, sadly, their guide, who was such a talented swordsman, had lost the fight, and now lay dead with his attacker's sword rammed through his chest. The other man had taken his sword; it was obviously much better than the one he had had.  
  
He then looked around and found Tobe, with two of the sparrows, leaning against a tree, looking as if he was trying not to cry. He had long cuts down both of his arms, and a black eye. He was staring at the trees with longing in his eyes. It was clear that he was extremely worried about Kel, and missed her already.  
  
As Neal approached him, he said, "They got 'er." His voice cracked. "She always made things better. She never let no one get her like that." A tear fell down his face. "And now those gods cursed dirty Scanrans got 'er."  
  
It was obvious that he thought that there was almost no hope, which was extremely unlike him. The blood loss was probably getting to him.  
  
"You're hurt," Neal said. "You need to be fixed up."  
  
"NO! You gotta go after Kel!"  
  
"We'll both go after her as soon as you're fixed up," he replied calmly, trying to get Tobe to calm down.  
  
"No! by then it'll be too late! We ain't gonna be able to find them if we wait 'til you fix up a couple of little scratches! Go get 'er now!"  
  
"The sparrows and Jump are following them. They'll be able to tell us where they are. And those are not just 'little scratches'. You're losing too much blood. You could die if I wait to heal them until we get Kel. Don't look at me like that! I'm not going to go get Kel just to tell her that you're dead just because I went after her before healing you! She would kill me!" In a calmer and softer voice he added, "and I don't think that I would ever forgive myself if that happened."  
  
Tobe seemed a little less reluctant to let Neal heal him with this explanation, but he still protested a little. "What if they do somethin' to 'er? Then what? I'll be all better, but she won't!"  
  
"Kel is a big girl now. She can take care of herself," he said in a voice that one would use when trying to explain something to a small child. Oh the irony of him mocking Tobe in that way; it had been the same way Tobe had mocked Kel on the road before their little surprise. Had this been one of those surprises that Neal's life was supposed to be littered with? Most likely.  
  
Tobe finally gave in realizing that they were just wasting time by arguing. "Mithros boy, they got you good," Neal muttered as he looked at Tobe's wounds.  
  
"It wasn' much. Will ya hurry it along a bit, healer knight? They want 'er fer a reason, and not dead. Er else they'd'a done it when they had the chance. And they runned off after they got 'er."  
  
This news hit Neal like a ton of bricks. Of course! It all made sense and he hadn't seen any of it! This was the kind of thing that was supposed to be obvious to him. He felt so stupid! "You know you're a smart little kid."  
  
"It was kinda obvious," he stated bluntly.  
  
"Done. For now anyway. How do you feel?"  
  
"Hungry."  
  
Neal let out a small chuckle. Of course he was hungry after a healing. "Well let's get the stuff and I'll get you something to eat. We have to make camp close to theirs, but not too close. Then I have to contact the people at Fort Steadfast. They'll be wanting to know why we're not there. And we need help getting her back."  
  
Tobe noticed that Neal had not even thought about Yuki this whole time, but said nothing. He had also noticed the look in Kel's eye when she was glaring at Neal. There may have been a scowl on her face, but it wasn't in her eyes. And he was the only one who had noticed anything! Sometimes people were so blind as to what was right in front of their eyes.  
  
He got up and headed towards the horses. Griffin, Kel's sword, was lying on the ground next to Hoshi. Then Tobe noticed that her belt with the sheath for it had fallen off a couple feet ahead. He cleaned the sword and put on the belt, tightening it so that it fit him. It was a fine sword, and he didn't want Kel to lose it. Or maybe it was because he was already missing her so badly, and wanted something of hers to keep with him. But he wouldn't admit that to himself. He tried to convince himself that it was because she had been something of a cross between a mother and an older sister to him, and he owed her to at least make sure that she got her sword back.  
  
"Whatcha got there?"  
  
"Huh?" Tobe asked realizing that Neal was talking to him.  
  
"I was wondering what you found."  
  
"Oh. Just Kel's sword."  
  
"Oh. Well, let's get going. Can you ride Hoshi and lead your pony? I'll get Aiden's gelding."  
  
"Okay. We just gotta get going."  
  
"I know. We don't know what they'll do to her, and they'll be wondering why we aren't there yet. Why did we have to go anyway?"  
  
"Um, yer wedding?"  
  
"Oh I know that," he said, but suddenly didn't seem as enthusiastic about it as he had before. Then he realized that he hadn't even thought about Yuki since the beginning of the trip. He sighed and hoped that the feeling that he was marrying because he had to, not because he wanted to, would fade. Fast.  
  
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"Why isn't he here yet Dom?!" Yuki demanded when she finally found her betrothed's cousin. He should have been here by now. It's only a couple hour's ride from New Hope!  
  
"I'm sure that he has a reasonable explanation as to why he's late. We should see him tonight, or at least hear from him, and until then, there's no point in worrying." He was trying to calm her down, but it only seemed to make things worse.  
  
"Oh no! What if something's happened to him?"  
  
"Yuki, it's Kel's job to worry, not yours."  
  
She had to smile a little at that. Lately Dom seemed to know exactly the right thing to say every time she got worried about something.  
  
He smiled back, then turned to go, and Yuki almost wished he wasn't leaving. Almost. She needed to be alone for a little to think about some things.  
  
**Okay. Chapter 2 is a bit longer than chapter 1. The plot should get moving along more in the next chapter.  
  
Please review! Or the Flying Gray Space Monkeys just might get you!!  
  
Muahahahahah!  
  
Oh, and if you notice any problems with the plot or the spelling or anything tell me, 'kay?**


	3. Conversations

  
  
Sorry for the long wait. But with school back in, constantly getting grounded from the computer, and the computer not wanting to boot up, I haven't exactly been in the best position to update.  
  
But I'm back. And for a while someone has taken over me and I've- very sadly- been spelling the flying gray space monkeys gray with an 'e', not an 'a'. Sad sad. But I'm back and I've written a million apologies to them, and they're on the verge of forgiving me, so, all is well in Monkeyville! (Not that I have any problems with gray being spelled grey, but their name is spelled with and a.)  
  
And then there's the disclaimer. Disclaimer: Do ya really think I own this stuff? If I did, Kel and Neal would've ended up together in the first place!  
  
And a note concerning the last chapter. Their guide's name was Aiden. This is not the Aiden from the books who was part of the King's Own. I just pulled a name out of the air, and it happened to be the name of the kid I was watching. So I gave the guy who had to die the name of my one-year-old charge.  
  
But not to keep you peeps waiting anymore! I'm ba-ack! 

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**Chapter 3**  
  
The room was small and empty, but for herself. There was a steady throb on the back of her head, but she couldn't remember hitting it. In fact, she couldn't remember anything. Where she was, how she got there, what she had been doing ...her name.  
  
The light in the room was dim, coming from the only window in the place. It was low to the ground and barred. There was enough room between the bars for a cat to jump through easily, or an arm or two to pass through without having to open a door. An arm that would hopefully bring food.  
  
The door. It was on the other side of the small room. There was no handle on her side of the door, which was only to be expected.  
  
Then she looked at herself, what she was wearing. Typical everyday clothes, for working or for riding. Tan breeches and white shirt, with a brown tunic and riding boots. The tunic wouldn't be representing a fief, but that didn't necessarily mean she wasn't from one. She could have just been wearing something else, because she had apparently been riding somewhere, or doing other work.  
  
Where would she have been riding to though? Who would she have been riding with? There wasn't anyone else in the room with her. What had happened to them? Did they get away? Were they killed? Why hadn't they come back for her yet? Would they come back for her if they were able to? How many people had been with her? How had she been captured? So many questions ran through her head, but she couldn't answer them, and there was no one around to answer them for her.  
  
Then something else: she had to go. Now. There was a small bucket a corner by the door, which she guessed was for use as a chamber pot. Well, even if it wasn't, that was it's new use. Her chains were just long enough to use it. When she finished, she curled up in a corner to try to sleep to pass the time until someone came, hopefully with food, because she was starting to get hungry.  
  
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"Tobe, we'll set up camp here, and I'll keep going looking for her."  
  
"If ya say so. How far're they gonna go?"  
  
"I don't know, but it's rather obvious that they had that whole thing planned out, considering how early we left and when they attacked, and how far we've been going. Had we been going at this rate uninterrupted on our way up to Steadfast, we'd've been there about two and a half hours ago."  
  
"I'd say more abou' an hour and a half ago, but if ya say so."  
  
"I'll put up the wards so that we'll be here undetected unless another mage happens by. You'll need to know how to get in and out. I probably won't be back for a while, so don't wait up for me."  
  
"Ye should tell som'ne 'afore ya leave."  
  
"I just told you didn't I?"  
  
"Som'ne at tha fort."  
  
"Right! I'll contact someone and then I'm off."  
  
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Back at Fort Steadfast, Dom was getting ready to go out hunting. As he came to the stable, he noticed Yuki walking in his direction muttering to herself, showing a lot more emotion than he had ever recalled from her.  
  
"What's up?" he asked as she got a bit closer.  
  
"Huh?" she looked a little startled, not having noticed him from being so wrapped up in whatever it was that she was so upset about. " Oh. Hi Dom. Do you realize how extremely late Neal is?"  
  
"Neal? You still upset about him?"

"Yes." She replied stiffly. " He should have been here about an hour and a half ago."  
  
"Well, what do you expect? This is Neal we're talking about here. Has he really ever been one for punctuality?"  
  
Yuki didn't seem as stiff now, but still just as much upset, and Dom knew she must be livid, for how much frustration was showing on her face.  
  
"No. But he's never been this late either."  
  
"True. You've been worked up about this for too long. I was about to go hunting. Want to come with me to try to forget about it for now?"  
  
She gave him a small smile and said "Sure. Thanks Dom. I really hope that nothing happened to him."  
  
"Something happen to Neal? He'd scare off anyone with his ah-hem 'sense of humor'"  
  
"Oh I'm sooo sure." This time she really smiled.  
  
"He's starting to rub off on you. Don't let too much more of that happen. One Neal is more than enough."

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Alanna watched as the two horses left with their riders, wondering where Neal could possibly be at the moment. Surely the Scanrans wouldn't have attacked just yet, and even if they had, she doubted it would have been where Kel, Neal, Tobe, and their guide would be.  
  
Suddenly, as if he had read her mind, there was a glow of green fire by her hand. Bringing up the speaking spell, she asked "Neal?" "Alanna?"  
  
"Yes. Where are you? You're an hour and a half late now."  
  
Neal took a deep breath then launched into the explanation. "On the way up here we were attacked by Scanrans. They came out of nowhere. They outnumbered us, and they got Kel. They let up their attack just as soon as they got her. I don't know if she's injured, but it was obvious that they wanted her alive. Our guide is dead, and Tobe and I have been following them for a while now. We set up camp and I'm going to keep following to see where their camp is. It can't be far now. It's obvious that this whole thing was planned out, but I don't want to go too much more into detail, or I won't be able to catch up to them." He paused, waiting for Alanna to tell him that he shouldn't go after her.  
  
"Are you sure that it's really a good idea to go after her? Wouldn't that just complicate things?"  
  
"A couple of the sparrows and Jump followed ahead of me, and they'll be able to get me there and back just fine. I have to know what happened to her. I feel so guilty about what happened."  
  
"You should. But not about Kel getting taken. She can take care of herself. She's had just as much training as you. What you should be worried about right now is Yuki. She's been rather visibly upset for a while now. I think she just went off to go hunting with your cousin."  
  
Neal just now realized that he had completely forgotten about Yuki again, and felt terrible about it, but, since Alanna could only hear him, not see him, he was able to cover.  
  
"She's not there? When she gets back tell her what happened and that I can't wait to see her."  
  
"All right. There's no point in arguing with you about going, so be careful and please try not to do anything stupid. I know that it's a really difficult concept for you, but take it into consideration, for everybody's sake."  
  
"Very funny. I'll see you all soon. I hope."  
  
With that he closed off the spell and left Alanna to think about the situation.  
  
They obviously wanted Kel for something, and she doubted it would be the ransom. Had it been that, they would have taken Neal too. It most likely had something to do with the recent killing of Blayce. With him went the monster machines that had given the Scanrans a definite advantage.  
  
And then there was something else she had noticed. He had seemed so anxious to get Kel back and make sure that she was all right, but he hadn't even hinted at remembering Yuki until she had mentioned her. I seemed like what he said had been a cover, and he hadn't said to tell her that he loved her.  
  
Well, she would definitely have some things to think about.  
  
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"Tobe, I'm off. Don't wait up for me. If there's an emergency, you can always contact Daine through the horses, right?"  
  
"Yup. Take some food with ya fer her. She'll be hungry."  
  
"Good thinking. See you some time soon hopefully."  
  
"Run alon' now Neal. Go git yer Kel."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Ne'er mind."  
  
"Right. I'll see you later then."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Jump took off and Neal followed, suddenly more anxious to see Kel than he had been just two minutes ago. He had to get her back.  
  
Though he never noticed it, he had completely forgotten about Yuki once again.  
  
Tobe watched as Neal left, aware that Neal hadn't seemed in the least concerned about Yuki, but seemed like the world would end if he didn't get Kel back right away. It didn't quite make sense. Unless........  
  
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She woke up with a headache. She remembered the throb that had been at the back of her head before and sighed. She was still in the small prison. It was one of the few things she remembered. She still couldn't remember her name. Or where she was or anything else she had been wondering about before. But one thing that she did know was that she was hungry.  
  
She hadn't had anything to eat since before she could remember. But then, for all she knew, she knew perfectly well exactly who she was just that morning.  
  
And it was getting cold. The sun was beginning to set, and as far as she knew, which wasn't very far at all, she had been dumped here and then abandoned.  
  
Just then she heard the sound of a large group of people coming her way, making no effort at all to keep quiet. It soon became apparent that they were all drunk. Or at least most of them. Suddenly there was a large, ugly face in front of her. "Hello Sir Lady Knight Keladry, Protector of the Small. Hungry?" it snarled.  
  
The face was dirty with dread locks hanging in his face. Breath that smelled like alcohol and spoiled meat wafted toward her. It was disgusting, and she was disgusted, nothing more. But then, she decided, it would probably be best if she played scared and intimidated captive, and she better pretend to know who she was. Someone could really take advantage of a person with no memory of their life.  
  
She nodded slightly, trying to look frightened, and knowing it wouldn't really matter if she did a really bad job, as they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.  
  
"Well 'at's too bad, ain't it?" he spat. "You starved us of our mage, girlie. Now we's going to starve you till yer barely alive. We'll see how ye like it." He gave nasty chuckled then left.  
  
So apparently I'm a Lady Knight. Is that normal?  
  
After some time to think about this, she noticed that the noise level had dropped, (which considerably helped her headache) and now there was only the occasional grunt, snore, and mutter. She couldn't see any of them, seeing as they were all on the side of her prison by the door, not the window. It was probably better that way.  
  
Then there was a small rustle in one of the bushes that she could see from her window. An ugly, medium sized dog came trotting up, tail wagging. He was soon followed by a young man who had an anxious look on his face.  
  
Kel hoped that he would have food for her. That seemed to be her number one concern at the moment, probably because she couldn't remember anything else.  
  
As he approached very quietly, she knelt by her barred window.

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He couldn't believe it. Finding her had been as simple as the plan had been to come up with. There had to be a catch. It was never that easy. How in the name of Mithros did this come so easily? Oh well. He would take it without question, for now.  
  
"Kel! Are you all right? They didn't hurt you, did they? Are you hungry? How're we going to get you out?"  
  
"Slow down. Who are you?" She wanted some answers, and then she would ask about food, and for relief of her headache. Wait. Was he a healer? If so, how did she know? She couldn't remember anything, right?  
  
Neal's face fell. His best friend didn't know who he was! He tried to answer, but no sound came out.  
  
"I'm sorry. Please don't take it personally. I don't even remember my name, even though one of those pigs said it. I think that he mentioned something about a Lady Knight? And what kind of a name is 'Protector of the Small?'"  
  
He had to grin at this. "You never did like that name. I'm your best friend, Neal. We were traveling to Fort Steadfast. Then Scanrans attacked. We were outnumbered. They killed our guide, and took you. And now I'm here to get you out."  
  
"Well that's very sweet of you, but I seriously doubt that it will be that easy. I've got a headache and I'm hungry. It's getting cold, and I'm extremely annoyed at not remembering. I'm sorry for complaining, but we need to be practical. I'm sure my chains are magicked."  
  
"Of course. You were always practical, except when it came to certain lost people."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Never mind." He reached through the bars and brushed her cheek with his fingers. His touch was cool and comforting. Green fire ran up through his hand, and her headache went away. Now she was even more hungry, but at least the pain was gone. So he _was_ a healer.  
  
"Thanks," Kel muttered as Neal reached into the bag he had with him that had gone unnoticed before. He drew out some bread and cheese, which she accepted gratefully, but couldn't help but saying "What? No vegetables?" This hit hard, but he said nothing, just pulled out a bit more, which she finished just as quickly. He then handed her his water flask, which she quickly emptied.  
  
"Thank you so much Neal. I was so hungry! And they weren't going to feed me. Said something about me starving them of their mage. Can you explain?"  
  
Neal launched into how she had killed the mage Blayce, and banished his killing machines. It was soon dark, and Kel had to stop him, though she very much enjoyed sitting listening to him.  
  
"It doesn't sound as if you're talking about me, but some legend."  
  
"Oh, but you are a bit of a legend."  
  
"Well I would love to hear it all, or, rather, remember it all, but you really should go now," she said, finger running down the back of a sparrow that had perched on her lap.  
  
"And this was supposed to be a quick rescue mission." He looked down and sighed, then looked back up into his best friend's face. "I was hoping you'd be coming back right away."  
  
She looked at him and suddenly wished that she could go with him just then, no matter how impractical it may have been. It showed in her face.  
  
"I'll mess with the locks, but I don't know if I can get them unlocked without time to work out the spells that must be on them, and blasting them off, other than waking up all of these thugs, would wear me out really fast. That really wouldn't be good. But I can put up a spell to keep you warm, and we'll see what we can do tomorrow."  
  
She nodded as he reached through the bars and rested a hand on her arm, setting up the heating spell. He touched her cheek, and, not thinking, she reached up and grabbed his hand. They stayed there like that for a while, perfectly content, until they were interrupted.  
  
"What'd ya think yer doin'?" one of the bandits snarled. He had woken up, and was not in the best of moods, having a bad hangover.  
  
Neal's eyes widened, and he let go of Kel's hand, standing up to face the bandit.  
  
He took a swing at Neal, and missed. Neal took off, following Jump and the few sparrows that had accompanied them and not stayed behind with Kel, the bandit following close behind.  
  
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**So this may not have been the best place to end, but I want to post tonight, and I'm going to get into trouble if I don't get off the computer really soon.  
  
Now I get to complain.  
  
Trickster's Choice was really good, but that was so NOT an ending! (Hehehe Aren't I one to talk) I mean, it was a good part to the book, but it was like the end to a chapter, not the whole book!  
  
No go! Review! And I'll try to have the next chapter before another month or two goes by!  
  
-Sunstorm**


	4. Uncertainty

Hey look! Chapter four! I'm actually posting! The fifth chapter might take a while longer because I'm in the process of moving. The house is on the market, and my parents won't let me stay behind..(I wonder why?)  
  
I really don't want to move again, but I really don't have much of a choice. For a while I'll be without a computer, so.  
  
I so DO NOT want to leave wonderful Nevada, but that's not up to me. Sadsad. They're also making me leave my beloved rabbit behind. I've had her for just over 2 and a half years now, and her and my sewer rat (miniature dachshund, which is a really small dog) have become really good friends. They chase each other around the house, which is rather amusing.  
  
But you don't need to read about the things I have to complain about right now, so onto chapter four! I think I might be able to introduce a new and important character this chapter, but only if I can come up with a name with him, as he is not one of Tamora Pierce's originals.  
  
If you really want a disclaimer, go see another chapter. There will be one there.  
  
**Chapter 4**  
  
Kel watched as Neal ran off, following Jump. It was now dark, and it would be easier to get lost. The idiot who had been chasing him stopped where the trees got thick, then turned on Kel.  
  
"You wench!" he yelled at her. She backed up, but she couldn't go far, as she was still inside her small prison. She was still chained, thought the chains were fairly long. Even if he knew how to get in, when he was in this state of drunkenness, it would be impossible for him.  
  
He would probably be in trouble if he hurt her anyway. She guessed that if this were not true, she would have been beaten badly already, or worse. Instead she had been ignored, until recently at least.  
  
"Y- you keep away fr-from p-people." His speech was slurred, and his wording wasn't much better. Kel still acted the part of the scared prisoner she was supposed to be, though she wasn't frightened in the least. There was no reason for her to be, and Neal's visit had calmed her considerably. This guy wasn't in his right mind, though that was most likely not a very good state of mind anyhow. He couldn't even reach her.  
  
"I'm sorry sir," she said, still assured that even if her acting were terrible, he wouldn't be able to tell.  
  
"Yeh sh-shou-ould be," he slurred out and then stumbled away. He must have had a _lot _to drink. Did they have no sense?  
  
Kel curled up in the corner of her prison, and tried to sleep, but couldn't. She knew that there was something that Neal hadn't told her, that maybe he should have. How she was sure of this, she didn't know. But she had known that he was a healer when she met him, though she couldn't remember anything else. She would have to bug him about it when next she saw him.  
  
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Neal ran back to camp, following Jump. As soon as they were back inside the barrier that he had set up earlier, he saw that Tobe had stayed up and had food waiting for him, exactly as Neal had told him not to do, but he was grateful all the same.  
  
"I know ye told me not to wait up, so I figured that was reason enough to wait."  
  
Neal rolled his eyes and took the food silently.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So what?"  
  
"What'd ye think?"  
  
"What to you mean, what do I think?"  
  
"Ye know exactly what I mean."  
  
"Do I really?"  
  
Tobe rolled his eyes and said, "How'd it go?"  
  
"How did what go?" Neal asked, not wanting to talk about it for some reason he couldn't quite place.  
  
"Yer impossible! How'd the venture go? Y'know, the one to go and find Kel? Did ye find 'er? Is she hurt? Is there somethin' she knows tha' we need to? Is she comin' back soon?"  
  
The suggestion that she knew something they didn't cut deep. How could she know something when she didn't even know who she was, hadn't known her own name, let alone her best friend's?  
  
"No," was all he said.  
  
"There's definitely somethin' wrong with ya. Is Kel all right? 'Afore ye couldn't stop talkin' of 'er, now yer hardly sayin' a word."  
  
"Maybe I'm just tired right now."  
  
"Never stopped ye 'afore," he muttered, then "Ye came back at a dead run. Howcome?"  
  
"Oh, some drunk tried to chase me off. No big deal. We lost him right off."  
  
"If ye say so," Tobe muttered, knowing how terrible it would be if they had been followed.  
  
"We need to get some sleep. There's going to be plenty of planning tomorrow if we're to get her out."  
  
"Out of what?" Tobe asked, suddenly more worried, for he knew that Neal meant more than just out the Scanran's grip.  
  
"Nothing. She's fine," Neal said hurriedly, really not wanting to get deeper into the subject they were on at the moment.  
  
"I find that hard to believe!" he said, his voice getting louder as he went, getting more frustrated with the lack of information. "Yer not the only person who cares about 'er, and yer not the only one who has tha right to know what's happened to 'er."  
  
At this point he seriously considered pointing out that he didn't seem in the least worried about his fiancé, but only his best friend, and perhaps Kel should be the one he should marry, but thought better of it. It would point the direction of the conversation elsewhere, and he didn't want it to go anywhere until else until he got the desired information. Besides, he could use that suggestion against him later. He decided this very quickly, never faltering in his scolding of Neal, and finished it with " Tell me what's goin' on, or I'll set Peachblossom on you!"  
  
Neal was surprised at Tobe for raising his voice, something he hadn't heard before. He knew Tobe was right, and the threat of setting Kel's horse on him was a bit of a deciding factor. He didn't need Peachblossom biting him right now, so he began to tell Tobe what had happened just before he had shown up at a dead run, conveniently leaving out the bits that might further suggest what Tobe had almost mentioned earlier, not realizing that Tobe (and Alanna) was already onto him.  
  
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Yuki lay awake that night, thinking, though her thoughts were no longer on Neal. She and Dom had supposedly gone hunting, but none really got done. In fact, it was just an excuse to get Yuki away from the camp so that Dom could get her thoughts somewhere else. It worked, too.  
  
They had galloped out, heading in no particular direction. Then they slowed to a trot, and then they were wandering aimlessly. It had been such a beautiful day, too. The sun was out, and there were puffy white clouds that soon turned into a beautiful red sunset, which, sadly, signified time to go back to the fort. It was a perfect day to forget the war, even if only for a few short hours. They had gone by so fast, but it was worth every last second, even with the glares they had received at returning late, and the odd looks from those who knew them.  
  
It was so nice to have someone listen to her so willingly, and soon got her mind off the things worrying her. Shortly they were talking and laughing together, and all former feelings of impatience, anger, contempt, and such were gone. It was now just a time to laugh with a friend, and forget everything for a while.  
  
Then she realized what she was thinking. She was about to be married for crying out loud! She shouldn't be off flirting and laughing with her fiancé's cousin while he was in trouble and their best friend was even worse off! What even happened to all her training? What was up with her now?  
  
She was flustered, and thinking too hard on the subject right now wasn't helping her any. She would just have to make it a point to stay away from Dom for a while, at least when there was no one else around. This would soon pass, and things would go back to normal. She hoped.  
  
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Dom lay awake that night thinking, the "hunt" had been wonderfully perfect, but then, it was all wrong at the same time. His cousin was in trouble, and knowing him, because Neal's best friend as in worse trouble, he would try to do something to help that would only hurt, and here he was, flirting with Yuki, like there was nothing better to be doing. What was wrong with him? It had originally to get her mind off of it, Oh well, he thought. He would have to make it a point to talk to her alone so that he could apologize.  
  
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Kammal left the area he was hiding in, heading back toward the camp of drunken Scanrans he had left earlier. He had information that would be of use to him. They could use their prisoner in more ways than they had originally planned. There was a man willing to go to extreme lengths to get her back, and it would be all too easy to get him to do something irrational.  
  
He would, however have to be careful about how he went about giving out the information. No, Kammal would keep it to himself for a while. He was the only person smart enough not to get drunk tonight. They finally had their hostage, and it would be all too easy for her to get away if no one was sober.  
  
This information would get him food when there was little, or a small amount of riches when there was plenty. He would use it to his advantage. But now it was time to get back and get some sleep. There would be a large number of men wanting hangover remedies in the morning, and it would not go over well if he was too tired to do anything with his small healing gift.  
  
All of this could benefit him personally, and that was what Kammal cared about. Himself. After all, he was still young, only 23 at the time.  
  
There would be some serious planning to start thinking of tomorrow.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**  
Okay, I lied. I introduced one new character, but he's not the terribly important character I mentioned earlier. It's short, I know, but I'm stuck. I know what is going to happen in the next part of the chapter, but I've been having trouble writing it. So it will be up later.  
  
And maybe sometime I'll get around to writing "Good heavens, woman, this is war, not a garden party!" a phrase I was supposed to write in a while ago. But I have not forgotten about it! I just haven't gotten around to it. Even though they have the Divine Realms and the Realm of the Dead, not heaven, and wouldn't know what heaven is exactly, but oh well.  
  
May be I'll be able to post again before I have to leave. looks thoughtful  
  
Now I have homework to finish. (A couple of math problems and an essay on Japan including 3 recipes and a map, which I already have. Now the writing part.)**


	5. Plans

Hey look I'm back peeps!

Okay, so I said that the move would back me up some, and now I've lived here for about six months and haven't gotten around to doing anything for this, but..............

Well, let's just say that I had a lot of homework, most of which was math that I didn't understand, and school didn't get out until June 16, and this is a run-on sentence and I need to get to typing chapter five.

And now school's back in and do you have any idea how many times I've updated these author notes before posting??

Well, I started writing it before we left, but then I got stuck. And then we left that computer in Nevada for my sister who put in storage for now. So I get rewrite everything, hoping that I remember everything. Oh well. And maybe my author's notes'll get shorter, who knows....?

And just to point out to **Enchantress Sun, **Dom and Yuki already know she's gone.

Sorry if my writing made that unclear. I'll try to remember to go back and fix this later.

**legofiance, **Kel had been talking to Neal for a while. Even though I didn't write out the whole conversation, as that'd get tedious, it was implied. Again, sorry if my writing failed to reflect that.

And thank you to everyone else who's stayed on my case about updating, but the stuff before the story is way too long already to mention everyone. But I promise that everyone will get thank you's by the end of the story!

Oh, and for those who're interested, I found a great home for my rabbit, and from what I hear, she's happy. My dog was killed by a school bus shortly after we moved into our new house (actually it's pretty old). I am now even more resentful of school busses than I used to be.

**And if anyone has read through all of my author notes, I'm not sure whether to say thank you, or you're crazy! Probably both, but crazy's not necessarily a bad thing. **

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything that you recognize from the books. I won't say that I own the plot, 'cause I don't. Many people have used it before, and will yet use it. Anyway, onto the story that is by no means original.

**CHAPTER 5**

Neal woke to the sound of Tobe moving around, and, by the sound of it, starting a fire.

"You awake then, Sir Meathead?" came a mocking voice.

He sat up and looked around. The voice, though very familiar, was not Tobe's. He saw Alanna standing, hands on hips, next to Tobe, who was indeed starting a fire.

Rolling her eyes, Alanna stared at the pile where violet flames sprang to life, changing quickly to ordinary orange flames.

"He needs the practice," Neal grumbled.

"He can get the practice later, Neal. Right now we need to hurry. I'm here to assess the situation so that we can set up a rescue plan. Is that alright with you, Sir Healer?" Alanna said impatiently.

"Yes. I'm up, really I am." Neal insisted as he stumbled over to the packs, pulled out a fresh shirt and changed, back turned to them. He could worry about other clean clothes later, but his shirt was really dirty from yesterday's jolly battle, and it stunk rather awfully.

Tobe was fixing their breakfast. (Neal was glad that it was him and not Alanna. It had a much better chance at being edible that way.) After rolling up the bedrolls, Neal went about packing up everything else that could be packed before they cleaned up after eating. There wasn't much, and he soon sat down to eat.

'A lovely breakfast, really' he thought, but said nothing out loud. 'Couldn't ask for more than melted cheese on toast, with some water to compliment it'

Sitting in silence, Alanna knew that she should explain things further, but she was no more of a morning person than a bat.

Being the first to finish, Tobe went to groom the horses, who had started wandering over after grazing, that too-smart look in their eyes.

There were too many horses with them now. They no longer needed Aiden's mount, and there were the pack horses to consider. And Alanna just _had _to bring Peachblossom along for the ride.

"How quick do you think this will be?"

"I don't know yet. That's what I'm here to figure out remember? How long do you think it'll take?"

"If all goes well, it should be fast; they won't know she's gone until we're far away. But since when does all go well?"

"Good point. I want to check it out, then I'm to report back to Steadfast in person, as they're paranoid about having a communication spell being intercepted, so there's no point in arguing this. I'll bring back anyone necessary for the rescue, and, then, we'll go in."

"When you go you can take some of the horses." As an afterthought he added, "And you can bring monster boy back with you."

"No, I think that you could really use Tobe's company," she answered, knowing full well who Neal meant.

"Very funny," Neal said dryly. "No really it is," he insisted at the look on her face.

"I'm sure," was all the answer he got.

Tobe came back leading two horses, Neal's and Alanna's mounts.

"I'm not so sure that bringing Neal is such a great idea," Alanna said to Tobe. "I think that we'd be less likely to get into trouble if you came along instead."

"An' leave poor old Peachblossom 'ere with Neal? I think not."

Alanna smiled. "Good point."

"Oh shut up you two," he grumbled as he stood in one stirrup and swung right leg over the saddle less gracefully than usual.

Alanna too mounted, more gracefully than Neal, and as Tobe walked to take care of the other horses he called, "If either o' you two git killed, I ain't talkin' to ya again!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I think we should leave the horses here."

"Why, do you think that they won't be careful?"

He shot her a look, and they dismounted. Neal took the lead, being careful not to be too loud, picked his way along the trail, Alanna close behind. "Stay here," she whispered to them, and they understood. Alanna mentally shook her head. Yes, she was used to their strange intelligence, but it was still just that: strange.

Neal paused and looked around, then continued on until he noticed that Alanna was no longer right behind him. He turned. "What's up?"

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

"Yes. Can't you just sense a whole group of big barbarians with hangovers?" he quipped.

She rolled her eyes. "Ha-ha, very funny." She didn't question him out loud again, though she did have her reservations.

But soon Neal stopped again, looked over slightly to his left, then pointed. "Do you see that wooden hut over there?" He paused and she nodded. "That's where they're keeping her."

"Isn't this a temporary camp?" she hissed. "Why in the world would they have an actual hut to put her in?"

"I don't know! Maybe they wanted to make her feel more at home, you know, protect her from the elements."

Ignoring the last comment, Alanna, stepped in front of Neal a bit to get a better view. What she saw didn't make her feel too great about the situation, but at the same time it wasn't as bad as it could be. She guessed that there were about fifty or so men, barbarians being a pretty accurate description.

They were sprawled out in no particular order, without tents. (So why did they have a hut?) The smell coming from that direction told her that there had, indeed been too much drinking the night before, and it probably happened as often as they had the drink.

The few who weren't still dead out weren't fully conscious, let alone in any position to be an immediate threat.

She looked over at the hut, and had seen what Neal had seen the night before. It was wooden, the craftsmanship not too bad, not terribly short, and fairly new. It still baffled her. Why the hut?

She studied it a bit further, and Neal whispered, "It's got spells all over the locks that're going to take a while to figure out. We could just blast the lock off, but that'd get too much attention, and neither of us is in the position to be that drained right now."

"The spells are really that strong?"

"Yes, they are, but I'm not sure if the mage that set them up is still around."

"That's good. I want to go over there and check on Kel."

"Um, Alanna..."

"What is it?"

"She won't know you."

"I know. Do you want to come with me?"

"No, just point me out if you need to, but I think that I'll stay back here, play lookout sort of."

"Lookout for what?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Right."

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Kammal watched the camp's visitors, everyone but himself and the trees completely unaware. He was the only one awake, and it was early. 'Those stupid Scanrans' he thought. 'If they were awake enough they would realize that opportunity was knocking.'

But he didn't do anything about it, except watch. He took in the view of the young man who had been there the night before. He was called Neal. And now there was someone else with him. Short, red haired. This was the Lioness. Oh, the havoc he could wreak, if he so wished. But he like the calm. Or however close a bunch of snoring Scanran ruffians were. How had he been mixed in with this lot anyway?

Oh, reflection on opportunity turned wrong would be saved for another time. That mage had been wrong when he said that Kammal had a strange magic. His Gift was just small, and the mage was really old. He didn't know what he had been talking about.

But for now he needed to get to making up some hangover remedies. He couldn't treat everyone, of course, but there were still quite a few he would have to attend to if he planned on surviving this bunch for a while longer.

Sometimes he wished that he could do more than simple remedies, but he always pushed those thoughts aside quickly. That would be his old self talking. The self that thought that doing good was the right thing, that there was some good in everyone. Oh, how naïve he had been. No, he could have been great, even without those great morals, but then Prince Kaddar had become Emperor Kaddar, and he had fled. That had been his mistake. He still wondered who he hated more, the Tortallans, or the Scanrans. Well, didn't matter. He was on the Scanran's side of this war now.

As he walked out he admonished himself for his continuous train of thought. He had other things to think about, like, how could he make sure he got his pay for this expedition instead of an arrow in his back when they were through with him.

He walked out to get some of the supplies he had left over on the far side of the camp, and realized too late that he was too much into the habit of expecting no one to notice him. He had let himself be seen. But he was at least smart enough to make sure he wasn't identified.

Letting his guard down was not something he often did, but he had slipped this time and he cursed himself for it. He wouldn't let it happen again; he couldn't afford it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey! Alanna!" He half whispered, half yelled to get her attention.

But Alanna had noticed it too. Someone was awake and moving around. And she had only had time to get a vague idea of the extent of the spells. Oh well. There was enough information to bring back her report. They would need backup, but if they snuck in, as apposed to a full out attack, they shouldn't need to take too many people away from their posts. Of course there would be a lot of protests, as the Scanrans were much too close to being inside of Tortall for most people's taste. But she would deal with that when she came to it.

As they slipped back into the forest, she thought that she heard Kel rustle in her sleep. Or maybe she was waking up. All that Alanna knew at the moment was that she really hoped that they didn't do too much to Kel before she could be rescued. But she also knew that she could only hope.

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"Hey! Yuki!"

She spun around to see Dom approaching her.

"Hey, what're you doing?"

It was an innocent question, but it must have been obvious that she was practicing with her glaive. Honestly, what else would she by doing in the closet thing Fort Steadfast had to a practice court, in practice clothes, with her practice glaive??

"Practicing," was the brief reply.

She didn't want to talk to him, not now. Ever since Neal hadn't shown up, Alanna told everyone what had happened to Kel, and she and Dom had used hunting as an excuse to go out and had ended up talking for over an hour, then they had gotten back late and she had resolved to stay away from him for awhile, she had found it rather difficult to stay a safe distance form him. And it was still only the next morning! Less than one day and she couldn't keep him from getting near enough to speak to her. Maybe the gods were mad at her, or maybe they just wanted a good laugh at the expense of a mortal. Unfortunately, she knew that this predicament most likely had nothing to do with any god.

Oh, all she had wanted to do was to keep herself from worrying too much about her friends. Alanna had gone after them, but that was only to get a general idea of what type of trouble they were dealing with, which didn't help much. If she could just get into the movements with weapon, she would be able to concentrate on that, but no. She had to be able to talk herself through this sticky situation, and she wasn't even sure what 'this sticky situation' was yet.

"I could see that. Can we talk?"

"About what?"

"I don't know, just stuff."

"Just stuff?"

"Look, I have to get going; they want me to go out hunting with them."

"I thought that we did that yesterday... They want you to go hunting right now?"

"And look how much we got done, and yes, we're going now."

"I thought you said that you wanted to talk."

"I do, just not now. I lost track of time just now. Sorry, I shouldn't have interrupted you."

As Dom walked away, Yuki couldn't but think about how nervous he had seemed, completely not like him. But she didn't let her confusion show on her face. Becoming soft was a bad thing, one should never show much emotion on one's face, and lately she had been becoming soft.

Well, now she had a reason to go back to practicing, but she was so used to every move that she would always fall into some kind of pattern and her mind would wander. But it was still better that sitting around and doing nothing.

xxxx

It had gone horribly wrong, and he'd lied. It was a stupid excuse, 'they want me to go hunting'.

'Well, I may just as well go out now and try to figure out what went wrong, besides absolutely everything.'

He left and wondered if he would wake up and find out that this was all just a really bad dream and he hadn't just made a huge fool out of himself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well, I'm heading out now."

Tobe had gotten everything all packed up and ready to go. He wanted Kel out of her prison as soon as possible, and had made it known.

Alanna was bringing all of the horses back with her, save Peachblossom and Hoshi. Tobe could work with them the best, and Hoshi at least was tolerant of Neal. Jump, who had disappeared for awhile after returning Neal to camp had reappeared and was curled up taking a nap by a tree. He looked like he had had more than enough to eat and looked thoroughly smug. There were sparrows here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary and nothing much to speak of.

"Have fun; I'm sure you will without having to be with an insane horse that likes the way you squeak!"

"Actually, I wouldn't know. I've never had the misfortune to have a horse like the way I squeak."

"You'll be back soon, though, with a bunch o' people to git Kel out of her box, won't you?"

"Of course I will! Oh and Neal, by the way, I'll tell Yuki that you love her and can't wait to see her!" With that Alanna was off, leaving Neal not sure he like her tone of voice with that last comment.

Turning, he noticed Tobe grinning, and growled, "What?"

"Nothin'. Just found out I ain't the only one who isn't completely blind. But then I should'a known she'd already've known."

"Known what?" But Neal thought that he had a faint idea of what they were both talking about. And he wasn't so sure that he liked it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Luke paced his room. His studies had been incomplete before his master had died. He was almost finished, but almost no one knew of his existence, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to make them become aware.

He knew that he should get the rest of his master's notes out to finish his studies, but he also knew what would happen to the person that tried to get them. It wouldn't be pretty. He was still trying to figure out a way to get someone else to get them out with making himself become know. It wasn't exactly an easy task.

There was a knock on the door and Luke was startled from his thoughts. Before he could say anything the door opened and a giant frame outlined the door.

"Do you have them yet?" the person asked harshly.

"No." Luke was slightly unnerved by the figure, but he also knew that he wouldn't do much damage to him. He was also impatient. "If you could just get me someone to open that stupid door, I could do the rest."

"Well, you should know enough by know to be able to open it. He didn't keep everything in there."

"Well, he kept enough in there. The counter curse is in there too. I don't have a way around it."

"Well fine. This is getting old. I'll see what I can do for you as far as getting that door open. Then you had better come through for us. If not, you'll die a slow and painful death."

"Well, that might have some effect on me if you didn't threaten me with the same thing without any detail nearly every day. If you really do come through with a person, then I really will come through with my promise."

"I think that we can this time." The large man's voice took on an amused and haughty tone. "We have just the lady to do it. They call her the Protector of the Small."

"You actually got her?" There was now a hint of surprise in Luke's voice.

"Yes, we did indeed."

"You mean you really did." Luke was actually starting to believe it.

"We did, and if she doesn't do it, you'll have to."

"If I do it it'll take me at least a fortnight to recover, if I survive it!"

"Well then we'll just have to make sure that she does it, won't we?" He turned to go and Luke heard him say "Oh the irony of _her _being the one to make it all possible again. It'll be because of _her _that we'll be able to win this war!"

It would be ironic if she was the one to open the door. Luke knew, but he didn't really care who did it, so long as it wasn't him. King Maggur could do it for all he cared. Just so long as it wasn't him.

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Okay, here it is. Chapter five. I would have made it longer, but I needed somewhere to end.

Ya know, I complained about Trickster's Choice a chapter or two ago, and Trickster's Queen is out now. I still haven't been able to get it. I can't wait to read it though. I feel kind of bad though, I started this before TC came out, and I'm only five chapters into it.

I know that my portrayal of Dom and Yuki is kind of off, but they weren't very developed characters in the book, so it's even more difficult to try to keep them in character than it is for the other characters.

Writing Tobe is not easy either. Other's slang is simple enough, but his is a little different, and I know I kind of screwed it up for him. So, if you have any advice, I'm more than willing to listen.

But please review; tell me what's good, what's bad, if you want me to continue.

--sunstorm

**AND MAKE THE FLYING GRAY SPACE MONKEYS STOP POKING ME WITH CELERY! I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY WON'T STOP!**


	6. Startling News and an Impetuous Decision

And here would be chapter six. I'll save most of my rambling for after the chapter this time.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this spam; I do not own it, Sam-I-Am. (sorry, inside joke)

**Chapter 6 **

And so now he waited. He hated waiting. And he seemed to have to do a lot of that lately. But he wasn't complaining. No, he knew better than to complain. There was a time and a place for complaining, and this definitely wasn't it.

He needed that door open before he could do anything else. He needed the lady knight.

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She looked out of her small, barred window. The heat spell still remained, a small comfort in her uncomfortable situation that she was grateful for. Neal had put it there. She remembered that. Thinking back to the night before, she was puzzled.

Talking with Neal had been enjoyable, even under the circumstances. It seemed so natural. He had mentioned them being friends, but she sensed something more. Though it seemed apparent that he had a talent for hiding his feelings, he seemed... distraught? Maybe. He was definitely worried though. But then she supposed that she would be too, if a friend that she had been traveling with had been taken hostage by a not-so-subtle group of ruffians.

And now she had no memory of anything preceding that past evening. But she did know general things, like how to walk and talk, what trees and horses were – everyday things that most took for granted. But they were the majority of the things that she knew. She didn't really remember them either. It was more like a general knowledge.

It was nearly midday; she could tell from the sun. But when would she have learned that? Why did she retain that knowledge? Was it just so imprinted into her brain that she couldn't forget? Was she always this confused? So many questions, and yet no one was there to answer them for her. That was another thing.

Where was Neal? Hadn't he promised to come back soon? But, no, that was something that her conscience had made up. She knew that it would be stupid for him to show up while everyone was awake. But maybe he had said he'd be back soon, and it all really depended on her perception of 'soon'.

Something stirred in her memory. Had someone not already been to see her? She was barely awake, but she had seen a short red haired woman outside of her small prison. The woman had motioned for her to stay quiet, and then pointed past over her shoulder. She had glanced over, but the window was small, and she couldn't tell what the other woman was indicating she look at. But the woman had seemed as though she didn't want the men of the camp to wake up. It made sense that her enemy's enemy would be her friend, didn't it? She hoped so.

The red haired woman seemed to be examining her surroundings, and Kel sensed that what she was doing was somehow slightly unprofessional. But she did not question it at the moment, not that she had much of a choice; she was so groggy.

And again, back in the present moment, she had felt as though something were somehow off, but could not place it. Turning her thoughts away from the red haired woman, she instead focused on how one should be well awake in the morning, let alone by midday. But, under her circumstances, it was probably best that she wasn't.

There was not much to look at, but she made due with the small opening. A sparrow flew in and landed on her shoulder. "Hello there, dear, what's your name?"

The sparrow cheeped.

"No, I don't suppose it would get me many answers; you're just a bird."

The sparrow chirped indignantly. Was it possible for a sparrow to sound indignant? Apparently.

"Alright, sorry. But it doesn't change the fact that I can't really understand you. But it is nice to know that someone is listening."

This time the sparrow's answer seemed satisfied, and they went on talking, or rather Kel went on talking with the sparrow chirping at her occasionally, for a very long time. And she was rather glad to have the company.

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"So, what did they say?"

"Calm down, I'm getting there. Wyldon was put in charge of this thing-"

"They put the Stump in charge of this?!"

"Yes, and I think that that says a lot."

"Like what?"

"Like they're taking this seriously and that they are trying to get her back."

Neal muttered something indecipherable, and Alanna continued.

"We're setting out first thing tomorrow morning-"

"You're waiting that long?"

"As I was saying, we're setting out first thing tomorrow morning, to give us time to pack everything, have a set plan of action, and so that we can get a good night's rest before we do this thing."

"Okay, and I will restrain from going in there right now and blasting that lock off of that stupid door."

He could almost see Alanna's stern look as she spoke through their spell, but all she said to that was, "Don't give Tobe a hard time either."

"Yes Sir!"

"Not funny, Neal."

"Oh, but your title _does _include 'sir'."

"As does yours."

"Oh, but you would never call me that."

"Sure I would, just not 'sir' alone, Sir Healer Knight."

"Hey, I thought that they were paranoid about speaking spells being intercepted.," he said, changing the subject. "That's why you had to go back. They wouldn't let you just send your report."

"Yes, but apparently it was not so much that they were concerned with interception, but more so worried about me trying to organize a rescue without their express approval," she replied in lofty tones.

"Oh, I should have known!"

"Yes, you probably should have. _I_ was your teacher."

"You didn't notice either!"

"You hurt me. All those years together and you still don't know me that well."

"Wha-...uh!"

"Yep, I expected as much for an answer." She paused, then said, "Look, we have a bit organizing to do, and I'll have you know that nearly every person here is willing to come with me. But I don't need that many people."

"Who all wants do go?"

"Nearly everyone," she repeated simply. "Wyldon says he would come himself if he could. Owen wants to go too, but can't. Then there's nearly every soldier, even ones that don't know her that well. Everyone knows what she did for us. They want a chance to pay here back. There's also Fanche, but she's at New Hope, and needs to stay there. Dom and Yuki would both like to come out." She paused, hearing a sharp intake of breath. "Something wrong, dear healer knight?"

"No, fine. I get the picture." Why was it an effort to keep Yuki in his thoughts? And why hadn't he been making that effort? "Say, speaking of Yuki, would it be possible to talk to her?"

"Um, it would be if she were around."

"Where is she?"

"She's out with the Dom and the patrol."

"Oh. Tell her I said hi, and that I really wish I could see her," his voice didn't seem to hold much conviction, but as he continued it picked up. "And tell her that we're going to get Kel away from this, and that those dirty Scanrans aren't going to stop us."

"Anythi- Mithros, Mynos, and Shakith, what _IS _that?" she asked loudly.

"Alanna?" Neal could hear something in her voice that he did not like. "Alanna, what's wrong?"

"No, no! That is impossible! They're gone! Kel got rid of them. It's an illusion; it has to be."

Neal was not comforted by the doubt she could not hide in her voice.

"Oh no. If that was an illusion, then I'm a flying pig!"

"_Alanna_! Just what is going on?"

"I'm sorry Neal. We're going to be caught up here for a while. That is one giant killing machine!"

"What do you mean? Giant killing machine? You mean bigger than the others?" a pause, and then, "you mean that there are _more_ of those things?!"

"Apparently there are! And you're just going to have to wait on that rescue, Neal; we're going to be stuck here for a while. Just stay with her, make sure she gets food. I do_ not _want to hear of you doing anything stupid, understand?"

"No, I do not understand. Alanna, is the fort under attack?" The truth was sinking in, and he wasn't so sure he liked it. In fact, he was sure that he didn't like it.

"Yes, Meathead! The fort is under attack! Who's commanding them? There are more of them than I thought." The last comment about the soldiers was more to herself than to Neal.

"Are you sure that it isn't an illusion?"

"Yes, I have spells against that- you should know that too."

"I do know that. But you said-"

"I know what I said! Look, they need me out there! Be good, don't try to contact me. I'll get a hold of you as soon as I can."

And with that, she cut off the spell, without so much as a 'goodbye'.

So Fort Steadfast was under attack? Great. Just great. Jolly, even. Now he was thinking too much like Owen. He hoped it didn't stay long.

But they couldn't just leave Kel with the Scanrans! He wouldn't allow it to happen. How did the Scanrans get such an advantage over them? Underestimating the enemy was a really bad thing. They had learned that in their first year of training. So why had they gone and done it?

_Because no one is perfect_, argued the logical part of his brain, the part that he usually kept suppressed.

But why now? This just had to happen now!

_It was all planned out, you can see that. They took Kel hostage, and then they stopped a rescue from being possible. _

If only they hadn't sent Alanna down without backup to get this thing done! They want Kel for something, something big. I will not stand for it! She has got to get out of there, the sooner the better. Even if I have to do it myself.

_You know you shouldn't jump right in there. You can plan something out. Tobe can help._

Though he was beginning to like this side a little more now, he still had no patience for it.

"I really don't like tha look on yer face."

"Why?"

Tobe raised his eyebrows. "'cause tha' look ne'er comes to somethin' good. Ye've got a good heart, Meathead, but ya've got no patience to do things tha right way. I don't wantcha going to get yer Kel outta there, and ferget that she's our Kel too."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"'Sup to yer interpretation."

"You've got to get some proper speaking lessons, boy."

"Not now I don'. And yer strayin' from the topic. I don't want to hear about royal dissent in the Copper Isles when we're talkin' of the price of shipping opals to Maren."

"Since when did you start talking in riddles?"

"Since they made ye pay me some attention."

"Oh. That makes sense... I think."

"Oh yer impossible!"

"I swear you're going to start sounding like a proper boy if it's the last thing I do!"

"I know perfectly well how to talk like a proper person, but I'm not terribly fond of it."

Neal was shocked. Where in the world had _that_ come from?

He gaped at Tobe, who said, "Now, wha' is it 'zactly that yer plannin' on doin', 'cause whatever it is, I don' think it's such a good idea."

"Make you a deal."

"Yer changing the subject agin."

Neal raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, wha' 'sit?"

"I'll keep you informed on 'whatever it is that I'm doing', if you'll talk like normal person."

"I am talkin' like a normal person."

"Okay, if you'll stop talking like all the common folk."

"But I am common folk."

"Well, no, not so much."

Tobe rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you have to promise a couple of things too."

"Fine."

"You keep me informed."

"Already have that one down."

"And you don't go around burtin' 'bout me talkin' funny like you."

"Watch yourself there squirt."

Tobe glared at Neal and continued. "You have to listen to me."

"Don't I already?"

"No, not so much. And you have to actually take into consideration what I say."

"You're killing me here. Anything else, your royal Tobeness?"

"Yes. No more stupid names, and-"

"There's more?"

That last comment earned Neal a glare. "Yes, you have to be nice to Peachblossom."

"What?!"

"Hey, listen. Yes, you have to at least make an effort to be nice to him."

"What about him? He should have to be nice to me, too."

"I can't make him do anything, and it isn't him I've got a deal with."

"You don't have a deal yet."

"Yes I do. You want me to talk like you. And I'm doing it. Besides, you're the one who mentioned it in the first place."

"I never agreed to your terms though."

"But you will."

"Says who?"

"Oh, not anybody, I s'pose, but ye git real annoyed wit me when I talk like commin folk.'

Neal made a strange noise, which Tobe took to be a good sign, and so he continued. "I think I've made my point."

"Yes, sir, you have indeed."

"Good. Now, what was it that you were planning on doing for Kel?

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Oh, there was absolutely NO point whatsoever in trying to sleep! And to think that these were the men that had taken her hostage. She was beginning to doubt her skills as a knight. Of course there was only what Neal had told her just the other night, but if she could remember such general things, hopefully her knowledge of how to handle a weapon would be there just as readily. Even if it was though, would it do her much good?

Well, just as well to be awake and alert. Maybe she could learn something useful.

And so she sat there, for hours on end it seemed. She had given up trying to remember anything, and really wished that the sparrow she had nicknamed "Chatter" would come back around. But someone had heard her talking, and he hadn't been so sure that it was only to herself. When they had come over to investigate, they had seen the little bird, perched on her knee. He had started yelling, and Chatter had taken off. Kel had tuned out most of what her assailant had said.

He left after a couple minutes of yelling and insulting her mother, whom Kel had a strong suspicion that he didn't actually know (especially since Neal had told her some really nice things about her mother and none of what this barbarian claimed had any correlation to Neal's tale).

And then she had been left alone. And yet she seemed to think that feeling sorry for herself would be a bad thing, frowned upon by people whose opinions she must have really cared about, or maybe even her own.

So she spaced out for a while. Then she went back to trying in vain to remember things about her life and about herself. Eventually that too became rather dull, and she commenced studying the trees that could be seen from her window.

If she hadn't been watching them so closely, she would have missed it. But she didn't miss it, and that's what mattered. There was one lonely figure, one that had not been noticed by her earlier, picking his way carefully through the trees, away from the camp. He was a skinny figure, but that was all she could make out. She definitely didn't recognize the person who she had assumed was a 'him'. She didn't know if there was any significance to it, but it did seem out of ordinary, not that she had a good idea of what 'ordinary' was.

But she remembered it all the same, and hoped that she might find some way to make use of that information at some point. Ah, well, here she would wait until, well, she wasn't actually sure what it was she was waiting for, other than Neal, really.

And then something else caught her eye. There was a different movement in the trees. Then nothing. She waited as still as she could, and then there was a rustling sound somewhere near her, and Neal's head soon appeared by her window.

"Neal! _What_ are you doing?" she whisper-yelled at him.

"I'm getting you out of here."

"Neal, it's broad daylight! I don't think that this is such a great idea!"

"Well, since when have my idea's been that great?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

As they spoke, he reached in through the bars, and she put her hands up, realizing that he wanted to see her chains. As he fumbled with him, she heard him mutter angrily, and then say, "Oh, I didn't come here to do nothing right now!"

Then she watched as he closed his eyes, and his brow furrowed. Beads of sweat began to form on his temples, and Kel wondered what he could possibly be so concentrated on.

Her wrists started getting hot, and she looked down to see the locks on her chains engulfed in emerald green flames. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, there was a loud bang and her chains flew completely off. It was a relief, but there was still a door to get through, and that noise was sure to catch someone's attention.

Neal looked rather exhausted, but he pulled himself up and went around the side of the small hut. She heard him fumbling with the door, but she also heard a louder, less welcome sound.

It was the sound of numerous large pairs of feet racing toward something, toward her, toward Neal. He sounded like he was hurrying, and she encouraged him silently, knowing that saying anything to him now might be distracting.

Oh, why hadn't she stopped him? She knew it was a bad idea. Any sort of rescue should have been at night, or at least at some time when the enemy wasn't within earshot.

Then, all of a sudden there was a small blast, and the door came open. She looked toward it, and for the first time, saw what lay beyond, if only for a moment. A large camp, in a rather large mess, not particularly fit for livestock. (And where had that comparison come from?)

Then there was Neal grabbing her arms, urging her to stand. She tried, but the hours cooped up in her small cell made her rather wobbly. He was exhausted and shaking; she could feel it. She stumbled on her way up, and he went down with her.

But as he faltered, he pushed her up. There was yelling coming from the people belonging to the running feet, and she knew that now would be a particularly nice time to panic. But her head remained clear, and she knew that she and Neal needed to get up and make for the trees. She also knew that it their current conditions, outrunning these barbarians would be near impossible. But in the woods they could hide. There was still a chance of escape. She was now in a position to get out, but Neal was down. There was not a snowball's chance in the Great Southern Desert (_Great Southern Desert?_) that she was going to leave without trying to get him out of there.

"Wha'd'ya think yer doin'?" was one of the few enraged calls that Kel could actually make out.

What she heard instead was a moan coming from Neal, and "Go, Kel. I'm wiped out. If you stay, it'll all have been for nothing." He sounded so desperate, and it almost made her want to cry. So she did as he requested of her. She ran. Well, she ran as well as anyone can run on legs that are asleep and protesting.

She darted for the woods, and noticed Jump standing near a boy who she assumed was Tobe, both with frightened looks on their faces. When she was only about seven or eight feet away from them, they turned and ran, and she followed, unsure of what else to do. They ran and ran for what seemed eternity, mainly because she was still having trouble getting the feeling back into her legs. But the fear and worry in Neal's voice kept her going.

There were men that followed them, but not very far. They had been so keen to keep her there, and it really made her wonder why they hadn't put up more of a fight. But she thought that she knew the answer, and she didn't like it one bit.

They had_ him_. They weren't the brightest, but they weren't stupid either. They knew that she would go back for him, especially because they thought that she knew exactly who he was.

xx

"Go, Kel. I'm wiped out. If you stay, it'll all have been for nothing." He saw her go and was satisfied.

Almost. He was so not about to let a bunch of Scanrans get him! What would Alanna say?? So he pulled himself onto his feet and was about to get up, when he came face to face with what must have been the ugliest face that he had ever seen.

"Ah, ye must be 'er lady knightness's dear visitor, a lover, perhaps?" He let out the wheezy laugh of an alcoholic, and again, Neal wondered how this group had gotten the better of them. There must have been some slightly sober ones with them.

It was all he had time to think before there was a sickening smack as the man's hand made contact with Neal's face, and everything went black.

...

.......

...

When he woke up, he was in chains, not so different from the ones that Kel had been wearing, but he could feel that the magic in these was double that of the magic Kel had in hers.

Again, he thought of what was so wrong with the situation, other than the fact that he wasn't sure if he had made it better or worse. Yes, he would gladly have trade places with Kel. That was exactly what he had done, but he wondered at what cost. But what about the Scanrans?

Maybe they just put up a good act of looking incapable. It was now apparent that they had a rather strong mage with them, to keep up these spells. And someone had to be a decent carpenter, considering where Neal was. For all he could tell, it was inside the same cell that Kel had been kept in, but the door, which had been badly damaged before, had been nicely repaired. Okay, so the Scanrans weren't so clean, and definitely had a thing for alcohol, but maybe this group wasn't as unorganized as he had thought. They seemed to be doing a pretty good job at, well, whatever it was that they were doing.

But Neal had to wonder about getting out. Would Kel come back? He hoped so. And yet, he hoped not at the same time. He was sure that they would be waiting for her. That is, if they didn't find her first. If they had gotten back to the camp, they would be well hidden, but they couldn't stay there forever. Oh, how had he gotten himself into this position!?

_You didn't listen to me. I would have told you to wait._

Wait! Wait? What good would waiting have done?

_Well, for one, you could have used the time to come up with a better rescue than that. _

Hey!

_Not finished. And then you could have waited until dark, and been a bit more discreet about it. If you had gotten Kel out, you and her and Tobe could all have been on your way out of here, to join the fight at Fort Steadfast._

Don't remind me.

_Too late. Already did. _

He rolled his eyes at himself, and curled up, using a little bit of his magic to keep himself warm, and knowing that there was no way he could sleep.

Of course, there was still some light left outside. So, how long did he have to wait here? That, he really didn't know.

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Kammal froze. He heard someone moving in the woods near him. Someone was close. So, with graceful ease, he pulled himself up into a tree and watched the goings on below. It amused him. The other knight that had been with the Protector was coming back for her. And with the whole of what happened, he almost wondered why Scanra hadn't completely taken Tortall over, if that was the way they trained their men.

He was amused, but at the same time he was displeased. He knew that something like this would happen, and he had had the opportunity to use to his advantage slip away. Was he getting old already? The lady knight had gotten away. But now they had the other one. How foolish of him. Now a rescue would be impossible. Though he hated the Scanrans, who stank of pigs and rum, he knew that they weren't complete idiots. Something the Tortallans apparently had to learn the hard way.

So they had a way of getting back to the lady. But it didn't change the fact that they didn't actually have her. He took solace only in the fact that he didn't have to be the one to tell his master. There would be a messenger for that. Of course, first he had to find the messenger, but at least he no longer had to hang around this sorry bunch. They could get back at the lady, but still, he knew that it was the lady that he was supposed to deliver, not some obscure head-over-heels knight.

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Okay, so first I was going to end it with Neal blacking out, but then my fingers decided that they wanted to keep typing, so out came the next bit. And then the scene changed and they kept going for about two pages, and I decided that I really needed to wrap this chapter up, as I had already gone past my original stopping point.

So, it could have been longer, but on the bright side, the next chapter is already in progress, so maybe it won't take me a month and a half to get it out...

But I can't actually post this chapter at the moment because the internet is down. Hmmm.... Look. It's a night later and the 'net's back up! Yay! (Too bad I only have time to post this and then do homework...)

**And there's one issue I'd like to address. I know that the whole situation with Tobe talking properly is probably rather out of character for him, but I'm lazy, and am sick of trying make him sound like he does in the books. No, he won't only talk like that, but for the most part, he will. **

Thanks to all those who have reviewed, especially those few who reviewed chapter five and made me write chapter 6. Ah, heck, there's only two of you, may just as well address you.

**fugeeeee** (my computer doesn't like the way I spelled that.) I have added. So there.

**Aly Spy** Hey, thanks for reviewing. Gotta love celery. I'm glad you like the story. Now I've updated, you have to too. (I would read your other story, but with school I barely have time for anything else, and am only about 1/3 of the way through Trickster's choice.)

Now I have homework. But first let me put this up.


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